Court Dismisses Suit Challenging Ekweremadu’s Access To ‘Kidney Donor’s’ Biodata
A Federal High Court in Abuja has thrown out a suit filed by the Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOSCO) on behalf of David Ukpo, seeking to overturn a court order that granted former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, access to Ukpo’s biodata for use in his UK trial.
Delivering the ruling on Wednesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo held that EDOSCO had no legal right to institute the case on behalf of Ukpo. The judge stated that under the Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, only individuals with legal standing can initiate such actions.
Ekwo faulted the applicant’s counsel, Bamidele Igbinedion, for attempting to mask the identity of the actual applicant. “It is clear that the applicant in this case is Edo Civil Society Organisations (EDOSCO),” he noted, adding that the counsel deliberately avoided stating this fact in the main application but only mentioned it in the supporting affidavit.
The judge also ruled in favour of the Ekweremadus, stating that the reliefs sought by the applicant were not related to fundamental rights enforcement. He further pointed out that the information sought had already been used in the UK trial, where Ekweremadu and others were convicted in May 2023.
In June 2022, the London Metropolitan Police arrested Senator Ike Ekweremadu and his wife, Beatrice, over allegations of trafficking David Ukpo to the UK for organ harvesting. While UK authorities initially claimed Ukpo was 15 years old, his Nigerian passport and Bank Verification Number (BVN) confirmed that he was actually 21.
To establish Ukpo’s real age, Ekweremadu and his wife approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, requesting an order directing the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and other agencies to release Ukpo’s biodata. Justice Ekwo granted the request on July 1, 2022.
Following their trial in the UK under the Modern Slavery Act, Ekweremadu was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison, while his wife, Beatrice, received a four-year, six-month jail term. Their co-defendant, Dr. Obinna Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Beatrice has since completed her sentence and returned to Nigeria.
With this latest court ruling, legal proceedings surrounding the case appear to have come to an end in Nigeria.
